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jacket and black evening trousers of the tropics, but after that was acknowledged he was in a class of his own. Tall and straight and lean, he drew the discerning eye as he walked towards her. She had never seen him looking like this before.
    Don't fall in love with him, she thought; it would just be another disaster!
    "I've booked a table in the Tapa Room," he informed her. "It's convenient, and I thought you might like to see a Hawaiian floor show."
    "I'd love it," Elizabeth assured him. "But what about you? You must have seen it all before."
    "I have to eat," he shrugged. "However, for your peace of mind, I haven't been to the Tapa Room before. I haven't, as a matter of fact, been to Waikiki at all."
    "So it's going to be the first time for you, too," Elizabeth smiled. "I'm glad."
    "It might be interesting to hear why."
    She looked confused. No one had ever made her explain her impulses before.
    "Because it's always much better when you're sharing an experience for the first time, when you're doing things with someone who is really enjoying himself," she decided. "I'd hate to think that it was a—sort of duty."
    He laughed as he. led her across the foyer.
    "Let's start with something to drink," he suggested.
    They consulted the colourful list together. It was lavishly illustrated and Elizabeth took a long time over her choice.
    "What's a Tropical Itch, for goodness' sake?" she wanted to know.
    "It looks as if it had a backscratcher in it!" He gave the exotic drink his full attention for a moment while she studied the dark lines of his face in profile. "I think I would stick to a banana daiquiri, if I were you."
    Elizabeth returned to her study of the drinks.
    "I'm going to have a Wahine's Delight," she decided, "because it has an orchid in it."
    He looked at her with amusement.
    "You're still a child," he said.
    "I'm young enough to feel excited by a new experience," she confessed.
    "Were you looking for romance this afternoon?" He glanced down at the two mauve orchids pinned to her dress. "With the gallant American?"
    "That would have been ridiculous!" Her cheeks were flushed with indignation at the suggestion. "We'd only just met."
    "I thought that was how these things happened."
    "I wouldn't know," she returned stiffly. "I don't fall in love with every new man I meet."
    "I thought you and Jason got on very well."
    "Your brother? Of course, he's charming, but—"
    "Why do you hesitate?"
    "Because I really know nothing about your brother."
    "He was more than anxious to let you have the job," he pointed out.
    "And you weren't." The old animosity was building up between them. "You thought I wasn't competent enough and I've more or less proved it to you today, I suppose. I should have gone to Maui with your grandmother, no matter what she said. I should have looked after her."
    "But instead you're here with me." He made room for the waiter to put their drinks on the table. "We'll have to accept the position, I'm afraid, since there's no alternative."
    Elizabeth sipped her Wahine's Delight, feeling it cool and fresh against her palate, tasting of lemon and rum. The tiny blush-pink orchid she placed on the side of her plate.
    "Aren't you going to wear it?" he asked. "Or does it clash too violently with the American offering?"
    "No," she said sharply. "I mean to keep it, of course."
    He lifted the tiny flower as they rose from the table, stooping to pin it in her dress. It was a gesture so foreign to her conception of him that she drew back in surprise, but he completed the little service with a determination which was typical of him. His hand touched her bare flesh for an instant, sending a sensation of fire through her from head to foot. This time it was Charles who drew back.
    "I'm sorry," he said.
    They made their way towards the restaurant. The Tapa Room was small and intimate, its lighting subdued, the stage at one end ready for the twice-nightly cabaret show.
    "I believe it's something quite special," Charles remarked as